Deadline for Autumn Schools Census

Check your T Level data before the R04 and autumn census deadlines – errors can affect funding

The T Level data you submit in your autumn census or ILR R04 return directly affects your funding. The Department for Education (DfE) uses this data to calculate T Level under-delivery and over-delivery as part of the in-year reconciliation process.

Data accuracy is your responsibility – you must get it right

The DfE is clear that institutions are responsible for ensuring that the data submitted is complete and accurate. Also, we know that every year T Level data errors result in unexpected funding adjustments for some institutions. As T Level student numbers continue to grow, the financial impact of these errors is becoming increasingly significant.

Errors may lead to:

• unexpected funding recovery or reduced growth payments during reconciliation in early 2027
• reduced funding allocations for 2027 to 2028 

The DfE does not accept in-year business cases to correct T Level data errors.

You are therefore expected to use the available reports and guidance to ensure your data is correct before submission.

How to check your data

Use the available reports and guidance to identify and correct errors, including:

• the Record your T Level data correctly in academic year 2026 to 2027 page which includes a checklist (at the bottom of the page)
• the 16 to 19 funding reports in FIS, SLD and COLLECT to check your T Level students are recorded on the correct T Level programme, have all the required components have accurate planned hours recorded to place them in the correct funding bands
• the supporting YouTube video

Common data errors include

• T Levels attracting a lower funding band than expected because planned hours have been incorrectly recorded and fall below the minimum hours threshold for the T Level
• recording only one year's planned hours instead of the total planned hours across the full programme (for example, recording 600 hours instead of 1,200 hours across a two-year programme), resulting in an incorrect funding band being attracted

Submit early

Check your data before submission and review it again after submission, while there is still time to correct any errors.

Submitting early gives you the opportunity to identify and correct issues before the deadline.